January 26, 2003
1Now on the sealed document were the names of: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, 2Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah. These were the priests. 9And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; 10also their brothers Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. 14The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
28Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, 29are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God¡¦s law, which was given through Moses, God¡¦s servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of GOD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes; 30and that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. 31As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.
32We also placed ourselves under obligation to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33for the showbread, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moon, for the appointed times, for the holy things and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.
34Likewise we cast lots for the supply of wood among the priests, the Levites and the people so that they might bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers¡¦ households, at fixed times annually, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law; 35and that they might bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the LORD annually, 36and bring to the house of our God the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks as it is written in the law, for the priests who are ministering in the house of our God. 37We will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns. 38The priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine and the oil to the chambers; there are the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers and the singers. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.
Nehemiah 10:1-39 (NASB)
How are you doing with all those New Year¡¦s Resolutions? Are they all in one piece? (Or did you wolf-down that candy bar before 9am January 1st?) Vows are a tough thing. Just think of all the different vows you have made:
New Year¡¦s resolutions
That household budget
Your promise to your fellow church members in this
faith community to live by the church covenant.
Your promise to your wife or husband, Mom or Dad to quit that habit¡K
Your wedding
Your promise to our whole country every time you pledge to the flag
Have I made you uncomfortable yet?
Why do we break vows so easily? The short answer lies within ¡V it is our nature to be unfaithful; our sin nature. Every ¡§son of Adam¡¨ has it ¡V that part of our heritage that propels us to break a promise; we take the forbidden fruit. Paul expressed it this way:
18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. Romans 7:18-21 (NASB)
Some are more disciplined to keep our promises a little bit longer, but no matter how sincere, we all find ourselves in Paul¡¦s spot ¡V wanting to be better ¡V to do good, but we fall short!
God has never hidden that aspect of who we are by ¡§candy-coating¡¨ scripture. When Moses presented God¡¦s laws, the 10 Commandments to Israel they responded with a vow:
3Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, ¡§All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!¡¨ Exodus 24:3 (NASB)
To seal the vow they built an altar, sacrificed burnt offerings. In a few weeks that golden vow was melted-down and hammered into a golden calf.
Peter was Jesus¡¦ rock ¡V a man upon which the Lord could depend. When crunch time came:
27And Jesus said* to them, ¡§You will all fall away, because it is written, ¡¥I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.¡¦ 28¡§But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.¡¨ 29But Peter said to Him, ¡§Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.¡¨ Mark 14:27-29 (NASB)
Peter promised that even if his life had to be forfeited he would be faithful to Jesus. In a few hours Peter not only broke his vow, he denied he even knew Jesus. We are sometimes not much different. Christians are just as likely to break wedding vows these days as unbelievers. Many Christians don¡¦t seem to have a problem with skipping out on all sorts of vows made, a loan for an automobile, visiting an aged parent, disciplining their children.
So, the question before the house this morning is begged: What¡¦s the use or good of making vows if we¡¦re just going to break them?
The short answer has to do with changing for the better. God does not expect you to be perfect, but He does expect you to try. The fact is, unless we attempt to rid our lives of the things that don¡¦t belong there, and attempt to do the things we should, we are not really trying to live like His children.
Without the commitment of vows ¡V public vows, there is little hope in any of our lives for real life change. That is why we offer an invitation every week ¡V for folks who really want their lives to change ¡V and are willing to make a public acknowledgement that only Jesus can help with real change.
In Nehemiah¡¦s account of the physical return of Israel from Babylonian captivity there is also the recounting of the spiritual return of the nation to their God. (Our prayer should be that America might wake up so that a modern Nehemiah could write the same ¡V that we have returned to our God!).
Chapter nine is like New Year¡¦s Eve ¡V confession of their repeated and prolonged sins, and a statement of their intention to make a vow of return:
¡§Now because of all this we are making an agreement in writing; And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites and our priests.¡¨ Nehemiah 9:38 (NASB)
Chapter ten is signed first (10:1-27), and then are listed the details of their vow ¡V a very strong vow¡K
¡KA curse and an oath to walk in God¡¦s law¡K Nehemiah 10:29b (NASB)
Incidentally, most anyone knows you don¡¦t sign a business deal first, and then let the salesman fill in the rest of the contract. However, a business deal is not a God-vow. You only do business with God by signing your name, and letting Him have the rest of the blank space to fill-in. You do business with God differently than you do business in the world.
Let¡¦s spend these few remaining moments looking at four aspects of the vow. These will be our four points of observation about genuine vow-making¡Kvows that any Christian believer should be able to make and strive towards.
Vow #1 ¡V I will make my home HIS home.
The decision to follow Jesus Christ means 24/7/365 (366 in a leap year!) That means much more than the 3 or 4 hours you spend in church each week. The home is the center of our lives ¡V God established it so, and we must pay very particular attention to creating our home as a center of worship and obedience.
¡Kwe will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. Nehemiah 10:30b (NASB)
If you carry this vow out into the current day politically-correct atmosphere of American sociological godlessness you will be marked as an intolerant bigot. Unfortunately that is where the rub is today about living your faith. You have to make choices about who you anger ¡V if you live your faith by creating a Godly home, you will anger the world. On the other hand, if you conform to this world you will tick-off God. I choose to honor God ¡V the world will have to get over it.
By refusing to marry outside of their faith, the Israelites were vowing to God that they would not dilute their obedience to Him by bringing unholy influences into their homes.
In ancient times a marriage ceremony included the ¡§household gods¡¨ of both families. The bride would make a promise to include and honor her groom¡¦s gods, and so would the groom. It is no different today. You cannot marry someone, establish a home with that person, and think that your faith is going to be untouched. Paul put it this way
14Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:14 (NASB)
Marriage is a binding together for the purpose of building a home upon Godly principles. When you marry, you are accepting the other person¡¦s faith and belief as to God, and how life ought to be lived. When ¡§two become one¡¨ it is much more than romance, folks; it is union of everything! People who base their decision to marry upon romance and feelings alone are denying the powerful influence faith has in determining what kind of life you will lead. And if you are a follower of Jesus Christ and you marry an unbeliever you are denying Christ himself.
When it comes to marriage ceremonies in our church, we have decided as a congregation that the two who unite must both be born-again believers. It is not because we are bigoted and think we are better. It is because we know better than to offend holy God! I vow to make my home HIS home!
Vow #2 ¡V I will make my Sunday HIS day.
According to Genesis, God got the creation done in six days. He rested on the seventh. That used to be honored in America; it is laughed at today; everywhere except the throne of heaven. God established more than a day of rest ¡V it is a day to honor Him.
31As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; Nehemiah 10:31 (NASB)
13¡§But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ¡¥You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. Exodus 31:13 (NASB)
This was the kind of vow that said, I am going to conduct my business within the six other days of the week, and on the day of rest/worship I am going to resist the temptation to do business. This was for two reasons:
a. God said so
b. God said so
Seriously, by resting ¡V or ceasing business in favor of worship there were two distinct statements made:
a. I honor God with this day as recognition that he gave me all the days and life itself.
b. I trust God to provide for me and my family in six days
Now, when it comes to us, we need to make up our minds about whom we will trust for our living ¡V God, or our own hard work!
Vow #3 ¡V I will make my work HIS work.
¡Kand we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. Nehemiah 10:31b
There is a tendency in business practice to get all you can, keep all you can, and do whatever you can to make the business prosper. When that philosophy is carried to the ultimate you have Enron and Arthur Anderson. Ethics and kindness get tossed in favor of the bottom line and golden parachutes.
God designed everything with a pattern of cycle (work and rest) and mercy ¡V enough for everyone. Every seven years in Israel debts were forgiven and the land was not planted. It was a matter of honoring God, trusting that in six years the land would produce enough for sustaining life.
We have a great problem with that in American life. ¡§Workaholism¡¨ is killing our trust in God. Pastors like me are as guilty as any seven-day-a-week businessman who has no time for God. We find all sorts of excuses to put in more time than we have. And for most of us who are ¡§type A¡¨ nose-to-the-grindstone, driven to produce ¡V even when you are at home, your mind and heart are at the office. Lights are on, no-one at home!
The vow to make my work His work is a matter of trust that the results produced in a balanced career of work, rest and worship will be honoring to the Lord and personally-fulfilling for me. I choose to make my home HIS home, my Sunday HIS day, my work HIS work, and¡K
Vow #4 ¡V I will make my stewardship HIS blessing.
This part of the vow of Israel that day was all about making sure God¡¦s temple was well-supported.
32We also placed ourselves under obligation to contribute yearly¡K Thus we will not neglect the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:32a & 39b
In our stewardship, blessing God is demonstrating our understanding that we are giving a portion of what He already owns. He owns everything; what we do with what He has placed in our keeping is a matter of being good stewards of His wealth.
The vow, then, becomes a matter of making progress or growth in my giving. Here are several areas of stewardship in which we must grow:
Treasure ¡V The Biblical standard is the tithe ¡V 10% of your income. Going above the tithe takes commitment and a re-ordering of our priorities.
Time ¡V If we make it to next Sunday, each of us will have 168 hours to use this week. I have found it useful to keep a calendar of my activity and occasionally review how I spend that time. It is the one time when ¡§playing God¡¨ is acceptable; you look at your record from God¡¦s point of view and have a little talk with yourself.
Talent ¡V We are all given spiritual gifts; the Spirit of God determines who gets what. We are all commissioned to use those gifts to bless our Lord. That is part of our stewardship
4For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with „Tliberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:4-7 (NASB)
The people of God made some vows ¡V Godly homes, worship on the Lord¡¦s Day, Godly work ethics and stewardship of all of life. We are the people of God ¡V our vows should be this, and they should be public. Otherwise they become like New Year¡¦s resolutions ¡V history on the next day. Will you make a vow? Will you sign on the dotted line?
